What more can be done?

[GetNlow]

First off I would like to say what a great forum this is.... I've found many helpful tips here and I'm sure I will continue to find it informative in the days to come. I've been a painter for many years, and make my living as such, but from time to time I run into a problem..(or reoccuring problem), that seems to haunt me. This particular problem is with paint lifting around the gas filler neck of a tank. I'm sure other's have had this happen to them before..(it seems to be a problem that most custom bike painters face at some point or other). I've tried various methods to correct this, but at some point there is always one that becomes a problem. I'm very careful never to paint to far down into the tank opening, and always seal the paint edge with a silicone or nail polish...(both seem to work equally well). Still, there are occassions that one will start lifting due to either overfills or fumes from the gas. If anyone has any advice on this, a new trick or tip they would care to share, it would be greatly appreciated and may even save my sanity... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbutt.gif Keep up the great work here....thanks!

 

[rex]

The best thing to do is don't go down in the neck,find out the spot the cap seal sets on and tape off the work roughly in the middle of the seal.That way fumes never get to it.

 

[GetNlow]

Thanks Rex for your reply. I found a few other posts on this subject...(one I think was yours as well), and you mentioned in there that is how you would take care of the problem. I understand also what you mean by having the caps along with the tank so you can check where the seal will seat. Are you still sealing the paint edge with anything....or just relying on the cap seal to keep the fumes from creeping? Thanks again for your time....I'll be doing another bike next week so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this will do the trick... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bigokay.gif

 

[rex]

I seal the edge after unmasking with either some catalized clear or good clear enamel fingernail polish.I also do the petcock bung and crossover tubes where I tapeded them off also.

 

[airartist]

I just finished repairing a tank I painted a while back. It will probabaly go down as my worst nightmare of my 20+ years of painting. The repair wasn't the problem, it was all of the various little things that happened as a result of fixing the tank. Anyway, here was my final..I'm never going through this !$#%$!% again solution to the filler hole sealing process. First off I made sure the paint edge ended just at the edge of the opening. Second, I taped about an 1/8" below that before I cleared so that the clear would seal the paint edge. Third, I lightly sanded the clear edge the following day so that I could apply catylized clear with a paint brush to seal that edge because the tape edge of the clear would be vulnerable as well. Finally, once that clear dried, I sanded that with 400 grit and applied the clear nail polish. Oh yea, before I even started painting, I made sure I sanded the inside of the opening with 320 to ensure the clear sealant process would have a good bond to the metal in the opening. I'm sure there are some of you out there thinking to yourself that this is overkill, but this was the second time it happened and I wanted to make sure it doesn't happen ever again. I will still be on edge for the next few months wondering if I will get that dreaded phone call. This all had to be done without disturbing the 3 week highly detailed mural which was only 3" away from the damage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/fire.gif

 

[GetNlow]

I've been there and done that several times, and don't care to ever be there again.....doing it again! Your method may sound like overkill, but if it keeps the paint from blistering....I'll be right behind you trying your technique. Thanks to both you and Rex for your replies and solutions to this frustrating problem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/drink.gif